Submarine life-boat.



a. BENDE-R.

SUBMARINE LIFE BOAT.

APPLICATIONIILED FEB-2. 1911.

1,260,955. Patented Max-1226,1918,

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. BENDER.

SUBMARINE LIFE BOAT. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2.1911.

1,260,955. Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR ,G Bendey WITNESSES ATTORNEY pair ear s sinn r s GEORGE Banana, or nven'svrttn, INDIANA.

STIBMARINE mrnnoa'r.

and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Submarine Life-Boats, of which the following is aspecification.

Broadly stated, the'invention comprehends the provision of means for .tIEtIlSPOltlllg merchandise, and the crew of a disabled submersed boat, tothe surface of the water, the invention being particularly intended for use in conjunction with submarines.

More specifically stated the invention makes use of a cask adapted to be securely the boat, the cask being adapted to receive merchandise and to be entered by the crew oi the boat should the latter become disabled when submerged, and capable of rising to the surface of the water when separate invention residesin the provision-of a float which is secured to the boat by meansor a 1 through the cask and float,-th.'ese partsbeing' wherein a from the boat.

In carryingout the invention I provide means operable from the inside of the cask for securely and detachably holding the lat- "ter associated withthe boat, together with a fluid-t1ght connection which surroundslthe entrance openings provided in the boat and cask respectively. Y r

Another importantcharacteristic of the flexible element, and held in properposition on the boat by'the cask, so that when the cask is separated from the boat the floatis liberated, or in other words permitted to rise to the surface of thewater, thus indicatlng the particular location of the" submerged vessel.

Other important features of the invention will appear as thenatureoi the sameis better .understood from the following detail description When taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the invention residingin the construction, combination and arrangement of parts asclaimed.

In the drawings formin cate similar Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view arranged in position relative to the boatf' a view artlyinsection;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional s end 'elevation.

specification of Letters Patent.

part. of this specification like numerals of reference indi-' parts in the several views and 1 rotated in one direction, to assist in holding the cask in position upon the boat; It is of'course manifest that when the rods 17 are rotated in an opposite direction the rela- Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

Application filed February 2, 1917. Serial No. 146,169.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation. Referring to the drawings in detail A 111- dicates the upper shell of the boat upon which the cask indicated generally at B is supported. The cask B may be constructed from any suitable material, size, and cross sectional configuration, and is. primarily provided to receive the merchandise from the boat A, and also the crew should the boatbecome disabled whensubmerged. The

invention is applicable for use with. differout type boats or vessels, but is primarily intended for use in connection withsu'bmarines. The upper shell of the boat A is provided with a man hole 10 disposed in alinenient with a similar hole or opening 11 yet removably associated with the shellor in thefloor of the cask B, so that communication can be readily established between the boat and cask respectively as the occasion may require, the openings 10 and 11 being normally closed by means of screw ring-like coversl2. ecured upon the upper shell A of the boat and surrounding the man hole 10 therein, is an annulus 13 substantially of Z-shaped formation in-cross section, whereby one .Of the horizontal flange portions indicated at 14 provides for the attaching of the annulus to the boat, while'the other horizontal flange portion 15 is spaced above the shell A to co- 'may be resorted to when desired, and any suitable means employed for securing the cask to the boat other than whatis shown, without departing from the spirit of the 111- vention. However a plurality of sleeve-like members 16 are secured to the bottom or floor of the cask, while rotatably mounted in each of said sleeves is a substantially L- shaped rod 17, the relatively short branch 18 of which projects beneath the floor of the cask and disposed with relation to the flanged, portion 15 of the annulus'13, to engage beneath the latter when the rod 1s tively short branches 18 of the respective rods are imoyed from beneath the flanged portion 15 of the annulus, with a view of detaching the cask fromthe'boat. .A lever 19 is preferably employed for rotating the rods 17', and said levers are arranged Within the cask being associated with the upper extremity of the rod. A ga sket or other suitable packing 20 is interposed between the flanged portion 15 of the annulus, and the bottom or floor of the cask, whereby a fiu1dtight joint is provided between these respective parts thus eliminating any possibility of water gaining access in the space between the boat and cask about the man holes 10 p and 11 respectively.

; qwithin the cask and carried by the adjacent extremity ofv the shaft 28 1s an operating lever through the lnstrumentahty of which the shaft is rotated; With the lever 25 normally in true vertical positlon the branch 26 of the latch element 22 is engaged beneath the horizontal flange 27 of the bracket 21 whereby the cask is effectively locked on the boat A. and assists the locking means hereinabove described in accomplishing this purpose. Howeverwhen the lever is rotated to effect a release of the, latch element 22 from the bracket 21, to permit the cask to be separated from the boat as the occasion may require.

The cask B is. equipped with a motor of any suitable characterindicated generally at 28, but by preference the motor is of the .gasolene type.

Arranged in one corner be neathj the top of the cask B is a compartment for the gasolene tank indicated at 29. Themotor embodies a propeller shaft 30 which projects through the cask adjacent one end the shaft being provided with a propeller of any suitable type indicated at 31.

The top of the cask B is provided with door openings, which are normallycovered or closed by doors 32, the latter being pref erably hinged to oneside of the cask, and

effectively held in closed position by the clamps 83which are of a construction similar to theconstructlon of the clampshereim before described in connection with the ,an-

nulus:13.. v

lnpractice, should the boat become "disabled when submergechthe covers 12-are removed from the man holes 10 and 11 re- .spectlvely, to. established communicationybetween the boat A and the cask B. When the merchandise has been transported from the boatintofthe cask,-Jthe crew enters the latter;

.rment therewith, is a substantially semicircular a1'n1,34,. the opposite extremities of .which are pointed and normally project a slight distance below thefloor of the cask as i clearly shown in Fig. fl. When the lever 25 is-adjustedin eitherone or the other direction to effectively release the latch elements 22, one end ,offthe armfA is brought into 7 engagement; with the top of the boat, and 5- upon-furtheradjustment of the lever 25 the arm 34: serves to. push the cask away from y the boatthereby assistingthe cask to begin its flight to the surface a of the water.

Arranged upon. the. boat A in juxtaposition to the. cask B is a float 35. which has its bottom spaced a considerable distance from the topof the boat to provide. acompart- .ment. for the reception .of a flexible element .36,ithe latterhaving one end connected to the bottom of the float and its opposite end' connected to thetop of the boat, while the element normally is coiled within the cornpartment above referred to and clearly illustrated in Fig. l. A clip 37 is secured to the 25 is swung in either direction, the shaft 23 top of the" boat,. and engages a similar. clip 38 carried by the float to assist in holding .peller shaft 30 projects, the inclined portion providing sufficient spacefor thereception of the propeller plateSl. Carried by the float isan angle plate 39, the projecting branch 40 of which is normally disposed beneath the inclined portion 38 of the cask, and

cooperates therewith to hold the float in.

position upon the boat. However when the caskB is separated from the-boat, and starts on its journey to the surface of the water, the floatis automatically released from the boat and alsorises to the surface of the water, but still held connected to the boat through the medium of the flexible element.

The float thus serves 333 an indicator to designate the particular location of the submerged vessel inv the body of water.

While Ihave shown and described what I consider the preferred embodiment-of the .inventionl desire to have it understood that changes in the construction and arrangement may be resorted to; when. desiredlas fall within the scope. of :what is claimed. What isela'imed ist 1. The combination with a submersible boat, of a cask detachably supported thereon and communicating therewlth, means for controlling sald communlcatlon, flanges llS- ing from said boat, retaining elements carried by the cask for swinging movement, and engaging said flanges for holding the cask in position upon the boat, levers controlling the movement of said retaining elements, said levers being disposed within the cask, means operable from said levers for moving the cask initially away from the boat subsequent to the release of the retaining elements.

r 2. The combination with a submersible boat, of a cask detachably supported thereon and communicating therewith, means for controlling said communication, flanges ris ing from said boat, shafts ournaled 1n the sidesof said cask, retaining elements carried by the shafts and disposed cxteriorly of the cask and cooperating with said flanges for holding the cask positioned upon the boat,

levers disposed within the cask for rotating said shaft to effect arelease of the cask, and

semi-circular shaped elements carried by said shafts and projecting below the bottom ofthe cask, and adapted to engage the boat to initially move the cask away from the latter when the shafts are rotated to effect a release of the cask.

3. The combination with a submersible boat, of a cask detachably supported thereon and communicating therewith, means for controlling said communication, manually operable means for eflecting a release of the cask from the boat, said cask having an inclined bottom portion adjacent one end thereof, a flange rising from the boat, a casing mounted upon the boat and constituting a float, lugs projecting from the casing, one of said lugs engaging beneath said flange and the other lug engaging the inclined bottom of the cask, whereby said float will be automatically separated from the boat subsequent to the separation of the cask therefrom.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

